Simple, Clear... and Purple! (LentBuddy)

If Lent is a time to simplify, then it logically follows (to me, anyway) that any tools we use during this liturgical season should be simple as well. I already have my favorite app for daily reading and reflection (Word Among Us) and my prayer list app (Intercede). I’m also greatly enjoying the Morning Offering that lands in my e-mailbox every day.

Adding a separate Lenten app that sends me in a whole new direction feels like setting myself up for confusion and failure — perhaps even more difficult than giving up chocolate or potato chips or French fries.

The first few apps I sampled didn’t fit the bill. They were either too fussy or too cluttered or too…much.

lentbuddy.com

LentBuddy is just right. The top of the home screen has the date and day of Lent (Ash Wednesday, for example, was Day 1) in white letters on a purple banner. Below, the app reminds me what’s required, what’s recommended, and what my personal Lenten observance is supposed to be.

I can set a reminder for my preferred time of day (or turn it off) and I can edit my personal Lenten observance should I be more fickle than I originally intended to be. An inspirational quote and access to the daily readings (via a link to the USCCB site) round out the page.

That’s it.

I have to admit, I was drawn in by this little gem in the description:

This Lent, never find yourself in the disappointing dilemma of ordering a bacon bagel for breakfast only to realize one delicious bite in that it’s FRIDAY.

I mean, c’mon. Who hasn’t done that? Sure, maybe it was a turkey sandwich you packed for lunch when you were bleary-eyed at 6 AM and not a bacon bagel, but the idea is the same. It’s nice to be reminded before taking that first bite.

LentBuddy is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. And oh — I liked it so much I bent my own rule and paid for the app — a whopping 99¢.